Kilkenny are heading back to the Lidl Ladies’ National Football League for the 2023 season, that much we know.
Now, the fixtures list for next year’s league competitions has been published with confirmation that Kilkenny will return to compete in Division 4B of the league.
There, they’ll join Derry, Leitrim, Limerick and Wicklow while the split in Division 4 sees the A side occupied by Antrim, Carlow, Fermanagh and London. The top two teams in each of Division 4A and 4B will progress to the league semi-finals with promotion to Division 3 on the line for the eventual winners.
Kilkenny last fielded a team in the national leagues in 2019 but a tricky year compounded by heavy defeats saw the side withdraw from adult intercounty competitions. There had been hopes that the 2007 All-Ireland junior football champions would return in 2021 though the Covid-19 pandemic may have played a hand in shelving those plans.
Intercounty team training was expected to begin this week with Kilkenny LGFA also set to hold their AGM at UPMC Nowlan Park on Tuesday evening.
With five rounds of games to play, Kilkenny will begin life once more in Division 4B on 22 January with the hosting of Limerick, concluding their group games on 19 February away to Wicklow. The Cats will have a bye for the fifth and final round of group fixtures.
Kilkenny LGFA League Fixtures 2023 (Division 4B)
- Round 1: Kilkenny (H) v Limerick, 22 January 2023
- Round 2: Leitrim (H) v Kilkenny, 29 January 2023
- Round 3: Kilkenny (H) v Derry, 12 February 2023
- Round 4: Wicklow (H) v Kilkenny, 19 February 2023
- Round 5: Bye weekend, 5 March 2023
The league semi-finals will be played on Sunday 26 March with the winners in each group playing the runners up in the opposite group. The Division 4 National Football League final is currently set for Sunday 16 April 2023.
Around the league
Defending champions Meath will kick off their Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 campaign with a glamour clash against Leinster rivals Dublin on the opening weekend of the league, Sunday 22 January. The eight-team division also features 2022 runners-up Donegal, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Waterford and Kerry who sealed promotion from Division 2 earlier this year.
Divisions 2 and 3 will also contain eight teams each – Armagh, Cavan, Laois, Monaghan, Tipperary, Tyrone, Westmeath and Roscommon – lining out in Division 2 while Division 3 plays home to Clare, Down, Kildare, Louth, Longford, Offaly, Sligo and Wexford.
The top two teams in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 will progress straight to the Lidl National League Finals with the Division 1 and 2 finals set for Croke Park on Saturday 16 April, the Divsion 3 and 4 finals the following day.
The Divisions 1 and 2 Finals will be played at Croke Park on Saturday, April 15, with the Divisions 3 and 4 Finals taking place on Sunday April 16.
A full list of league fixtures are available HERE.
